Each time the ball knocked down pins, the diminutive 8-year-old jumped up and down, first clapping her little hands, then waving her arms in the air with excitement.

She ran to her dad, giving him “knuckles” then a big hug and kiss.

Ally, who has autism and Turner Syndrome, then had a chance to bowl with the help of the Airway alligator. The structure has a slide down its back that helps the balls gain some momentum as children release them at the “head” of the alligator.

With her dad at her side, she watched with fascination as her bright orange ball rolled down the slide and headed toward the pins.

She doesn’t bowl often, two or three times a year, but has a Wii bowling game at home and understands that a 300 is a good score.

Two weeks ago, she asked her dad to bowl a 300 game for her. Stunned, he stopped in his tracks, tears running down his face.

Ally has trouble communicating and does not usually speak spontaneously in complete sentences.

“When I get ready on Thursdays, I’ll come downstairs and when she sees my bowling shirt, she will immediately come up to me and give me a hug,” Unold said. “She says, ‘Daddy bowling.’

“I say, ‘That’s right, sweetheart. I’m going bowling.’ That night, after that hug, she grabbed my face and said, ‘Daddy get a strike.’ I told her I would try my hardest for her. Then she gave me a hug and a big kiss, grabbed my face again and put both hands on my face and she said, ‘Daddy, please bowl me a 300.’”

That left him and his wife, Leslie, speechless.

“That was so beautiful, and tears immediately just streamed down my face, because to get that whole sentence out on her own, is what was so magical,” he said. “It was very, very moving. We were both tearing. This is so beautiful. It’s never happened before.”

Said his wife: “Ally has autism and Turner Syndrome, which is opposite of Down Syndrome. She’s our special needs angel. She’s a daddy’s girl and just has magical sentences for him. That was one he’ll never forget."

Caught up in the moment, Unold remembered he had an Els for Autism bracelet that he got from the foundation sponsored by pro golfer Ernie Els, who has an autistic son.

He retrieved and slipped on the bracelet, then traveled from their home in Mattawan to Airway Lanes for his Paper City league, never believing he really would throw his first perfect game.

“I was feeling really good,” Unold said. “I had a 182 then a 214. On the last game, I didn’t start getting nervous until I got the first eight (strikes) in a row.”

People started drifting over to lane 40 so he asked his Cody Kresta Vineyard and Winery teammates Paul Honeysett, Mark Honeysett, Todd Topham and Bob Studebaker to keep people away from him so he didn’t lose his focus.

“They literally got up from the table and stood behind me and stopped people (from approaching him),” Unold said. “I threw the ninth (frame) and, boom, beautiful strike. Now everyone’s coming down, which means the lanes are getting quiet. They didn’t know the story behind it.

“I did my normal routine, stood up there and said a prayer to God and my dad (Ted Unold), who is in heaven. I said, ‘Listen, here we are in the 10th frame. Let’s do this together.'”

Unold threw a strike in the 10th and another in the 11th.

“Now everyone is down there,” he said. “I didn’t even pay attention to anyone. I did my routine, took a deep breath and, at that point, I said, ‘God and Dad, all right, you just helped me throw 11 (strikes). I promise you I’m gonna do this one for Ally.'

“Honest to God, I went up and threw the best ball I threw all night. I hit my mark and everyone’s leaning. Everyone was going crazy. I fell to my knees and said ‘Thank you.’”

A friend, Billy Louthan, who was bowling a few lanes away, pulled out his cell phone and recorded the final strike, sending a copy to Unold to share with his family.

After getting hugs and high fives from everyone, Unold called home, asking his wife to put the phone on speaker.

“As soon as it clicked over and I could hear (11-year-old son) Tommy and Ally, I started crying again,” he said. “It was just so moving. Here it is 2 1/2 weeks later and I’m still floating.”